Posted on 01/23/2004 9:26:13 PM PST by blam
It came from outer space and we don't care, say museums
Giles Tremlett in Madrid
Saturday January 24, 2004
The Guardian (UK)
A home was yesterday being sought for two fragments of rock from outer space which fell to earth in Spain two weeks ago and which museums there have turned down. The meteor fragments were found by a Spanish journalist, Abel Tarilonte, after a flaming ball of rock was seen shooting across the skies of northern and central Spain.
Villagers in the mountains of northern Spain reported hearing and feeling explosions after the bright white fireball passed overhead on January 4. But a search by police failed to find any remnants of the meteorite.
Scientists said it had probably been destroyed and that the chances of finding any part of it were so slim that it was not worth trying.
Then Mr Tarilonte came across two lumps of blackened rock lying on a country track in the mountains in the northern province of Palencia.
The rocks, weighing just 41 grams (1.4oz) and 22 grams, were tested by a Spanish laboratory, which confirmed they were from the meteor.
But now Mr Tarilonte cannot find a museum or university science department in Spain prepared to give them a home where they can be properly examined, El Mundo reported yesterday.
"No one from any public body has shown the least interest in the find or in its scientific implications. This is despite the fact that these are the only meteor remains to have been found in Spain for six decades," he complained.
Mr Tarilonte has now offered to send them to the United States - or anywhere else that might be interested in finding out more about them. However, he did not say whether he was prepared to give them away or just lend them.
Do they still teach that in government schools?
Ain't that the truth! I built my first crystal radio last weekend (it works!!!) and tried to tell co-workers about it. Their reaction was the same as their reactions to my impromptu astronomy lessons during breaks..."Nerd Alert!". Sigh!
I've built all kinds of stuff, but a crystal radio is absolutely fascinating. I'm planning to do that with my son here soon. He'll have his own radi to listen for "bad guys", and not have to use my HF radio.
and tried to tell co-workers about it. Their reaction was the same as their reactions to my impromptu astronomy lessons during breaks..."Nerd Alert!". Sigh!
I get this from other folks as well. Makes you wonder what happened?
I will never get over my disappointment at people who take this amazing world/universe for granted! The old science fictional Sense of Wonder always grips me when I look at the stars or wonder about the symmetry of a crystal. I built my first crystal radio as a kid during WWII (had a heck of a time finding copper wire to wind the coil with!) Tuning in my first station with the cat's-whisker was a thrill and sense of discovery I'll never forget.
Our cat has been avoiding me ever since I started building these radio. lol...small joke. :^)
Seriously though, I've worked in many chem/bio labs, even had a small taste of working with some unusual equipment at FermiLab, but I had never built anything myself.
A dear friend recently taught me how to solder, and I built a simple AM radio - which works great. Ah, but crystal radio has always seemed like magic to me, and I finally got the nerve to try.
I remember my brother spending hours trying to get his coils just right - I wanted to help then, but I was "just a girl". My, how times have changed. I can't wait to see the look on his face when I show him this set! Of course, he'll find something that I could have done better, but I will still relish the moment.
I served for a while as president of an Astronomical Society at my university. We had an open-house every week, with scheduled events in between. The kids were always excited...the adults, well they all seemed completely bored as if they were being forced to watch a Disney movie for the 500th time.
I would given them a tour after the observing session of the geology department's rock and mineral collection, which included some meteorites. Again, the kids were excited, the adults were not.
Have we as a society become so jaded and sophisticated that these genuine marvels don't even register? How sad!!! I can't think of anything "cooler" than examining the Widmanstatten pattern of a meteorite section, finding a gem-quality crystal in an abandoned mine, seeing Saturn for the first time through a home-built telescope, or pulling in a radio signal through my hand wound coil.
I wish I had a solution...
Keep me posted! The look on his face when he hears a radio station through it for the first time will be priceless!
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